Jared Diamond is a professor of three subjects: physiology, ornithology and geography. But, mainly he’s a great writer and (some say) a genius. His latest book is called “Upheaval” and relates to people and to nations. How to cope with crises (how handy, right now). His own crisis was seeming to fail lab science at Cambridge. As for national upheavals: he deals with USA, Japan and Australia and his remedies are unexpected.

For 26 years, [UCLA’s Tom] Nunan has taught the Graduate Producers Program, focusing on showing how the industry works. “Students are so eager and excited about their projects and their enthusiasm and energy is one-of-a-kind,” he says. There’s been a robust addition of TV courses in the program, especially in the writing and producing arenas.

The timing is crucial. The sooner people can move indoors, with daily meals, bathrooms, medical screening and supervision, the fewer will die, [Randall] Kuhn said. The professor in the UCLA Fielding School of Health calculated that for every 11 homeless people housed, one hospitalization will be avoided. And for every 42 people housed, one death would be prevented.

And they now include guys such as Hill and Brandon Rice, a former UCLA School of Nursing graduate program cohort. Both climbed out of that cauldron of testosterone and toxic masculinity known as college football to join nursing’s ranks and, maybe surprisingly, pronounce it the toughest thing they have done and now the most frightening.

One key takeaway of the Santa Clara County study is that a large number of people who are infected with the coronavirus never show any symptoms, said Karin Michels, chair of the epidemiology department at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health.

Although the Food and Drug Administration has issued emergency authorization for the use of hydroxychloroquine for some hospitalized COVID-19 patients, Dr. Russell Buhr, a pulmonary and critical care physician at UCLA Medical Center, is wary of the medication’s effectiveness. A small French study that was at least part of the basis for Trump’s endorsement of the drug raises “red flags”, Buhr said. “As someone who does research, it makes me uneasy anchoring hope on one treatment that doesn’t have much science to support it yet,” he added. “We can’t pronounce it good, bad or otherwise until we have valid clinical research data.”

Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist who wasn’t involved in the research, called the work important because it provides evidence “that human-caused climate change transformed what might have otherwise been a moderate long-term drought into a severe event comparable to the ‘megadroughts’ of centuries past.”

“We are operating in a data-free zone,” said Yalda Afshar, an obstetrician and gynecologist at UCLA Health in Los Angeles. “People are appropriately scared because when we can’t counsel them with good evidence-backed data the unknowns are very intimidating.” (UCLA’s Neil Silverman is also quoted.)

Robert Kim-Farley, a University of California at Los Angeles professor of epidemiology, said that may take until mid-June or July. “We’re at least a month away from seeing these downswings and significant testing being available to begin really contemplating a reopening,” Kim-Farley said. (Kim-Farley was also interviewed by Sky News.)

“My hope is that people recognize that — and I think we need collectively to educate people — about why even after this pandemic is over, a handshake is a really bad idea.” said Dr. [Mark] Sklansky, chief of pediatric cardiology at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA. “From an infectious disease standpoint, it’s a terrible concept to shake. Hands are a phenomenal vector for disease.”

“We are far behind, still, in testing.… Not only do we not have enough tests for optimal testing, meaning that every person who needs one should be able to get one. But we do not have a national testing strategy,” said UCLA’s Anne Rimoin (approx. 2:20 mark). (Rimoin was also interviewed on CNN International.)

“It factors in importantly the physical distancing measures that are absolutely essential,” said Jonathan Fielding, professor in the Schools of Public Health and Medicine at UCLA, of the fight against COVID-19. “And it’s important that we keep everybody compliant with these measures if we don’t want things to get worse.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic is amplifying the structural inequities in American society. Examples abound. There is no mystery here. Simply a reflection of what is and has been. Today we are seeing that COVID-19 is disproportionately killing African Americans, including women, which sends a powerful message to all of us, most especially to African American girls. Since race and ethnicity are not biological concepts, why is this the case?” said UCLA’s MarySue Heilemann. (UCLA’s Kimberle Crenshaw is also quoted.)

Marijuana isn’t just popular in swing states. It’s also popular with swing voters. We can look at how small, but potentially pivotal, groups feel about legalization in the UCLA/Nationscape data, an enormous academic survey that has interviewed more than 200,000 registered voters since the summer of 2019.

Some research does suggest that powered brushes may be slightly more effective at cleaning away plaque and keeping gums healthy. But “people who do a good job can do a good job with any type of toothbrush,” says Paulo Camargo, D.D.S., chair of periodontics at the UCLA School of Dentistry.

Matt Barreto, professor of political science at UCLA and faculty director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project, says California already allows permanent, no-excuse absentee voting and early voting — so it isn’t out of the question for other states. “Some of the more rural counties have already transitioned to 100% vote-by-mail, and do automatically send out ballots to all voters,” says Barreto. “So, we’re already seeing that in parts of California.”

“The whole idea about providing dates was actually a movement started by consumers in the Seventies. And the food industry picked up on this. It has been quite successful, as far as giving the consumers a time frame to make sure the food will be fresh,” said UCLA’s Catherine Carpenter.